Clients

Fraisure Sumpter is a HOPE client who lives in Morgan Hill and works at North Coast Medical in Gilroy. His first job was at Bonfante Gardens, now Gilroy Gardens. Fraisure wore glasses since he was a young child and had very thick lenses. Like many other clients, Fraisure did not like wearing glasses and often forgot them or chose to not wear them. He is thrilled with his “new” vision, is appreciative of the program because he would not have been able to afford the procedure on his own, and has more self-confidence.

Charles McIntire is a HOPE client who lives in Hollister and works at Charles River Labs. He needed to wear glasses while working with the detailed machines at Charles River Labs, but like most clients, often refused to wear them because they bothered him, got scratched, foggy or he could not find them. Charles is enthusiastic that he no longer needs to worry about glasses.

Staff

Anita Haag has worked for HOPE Services for five years, two of her children work at HOPE and one is a client - so the organization has a very special place in her heart. Anita is the Supported Employment Coordinator and Independent Living Skills Coordinator for HOPE's South Valley District. She suffered a head injury several years ago and wearing glasses was causing her migraines by putting pressure on her head. She also did not like being dependent on them to read prescription bottles or any other small font. She is thrilled with her vision correction - she is amazed at how clearly she can see things once again.

John Bell lives in Salinas and works at HOPE Services in Monterey. What excited him the most about the Gift of Sight is having the opportunity to fix one of his physical problems! John conducts most of his HOPE business by phone and was having trouble reading numbers, as well as reading paper work, prescriptions, etc. He also had very poor night vision. John is THRILLED by the outcome of his vision correction - he can read his medicines, messages on the phone and emails - no more looking for his glasses! The Gift of Sight has greatly helped him with his work and improved his quality of life. He is still testing his night vision - but so far, it seems much better as well. Now when he sees his wife looking for her glasses - he fully sympathizes, as that used to be him!

Wilhelmina Foronda lives in Santa Clara and works at HOPE Services in San Jose. She depended on her glasses for decades and no longer wanted to wear them. To her, vision is a person's most important sense, so to be able to see things clearly without glasses is very important. Wilhelmina had PRK and as expected, she experiencing slightly slower vision recovery, but knows that with Dr. Furlong's expertise, she will soon appreciate God's blessings more - see nature in its grandiose splendor and enjoy playing outdoors without glasses. She is thankful to Furlong Vision's amazing team: Dr. Furlong, Carla, Will, Kim, Michelle, Nicolette and Dana.

Dawn Gatlin lives in Los Gatos and works at the HOPE Senior Center as an Instructor. As part of her job, she leads activities and takes clients out in the community. What she enjoys most about her job is seeing her clients improve their skills and helping them stay healthy. Dawn's vision was gradually deteriorating and she was having trouble seeing things up close at work and getting frustrated to have to “hunt down” her glasses. She is very excited about not having to rely on glasses any more and her grandchildren are happy they no longer have to look for her glasses!

Maria Elena Vega works at HOPE Services in San Jose as an Instructor. Her vision had been deteriorating and she was not able to wear glasses for long periods of time because they made her feel dizzy. Also, her contacts were irritating and drying her eyes. Maria Elena was enthusiastic to receive the Gift of Sight, so she could address her vision problems and better work with her clients - they need her to see well to help them with their arts and crafts, and other projects! She is now a "very happy person" and feels great about being able to see things clearly without having to look for glasses or "pop" in contacts. The procedure has changed her life - we are happy to hear that!

Carissa Edwards works at HOPE Services in Salinas. She wore contact lenses for over 20 years and was struggling with dry eyes, dealing with damaged lenses and the cost of replacing them and/or having to purchase vision glasses. Carissa heard great success stories from previous Gift of Sight recipients and could not believe her luck to be selected as one of them this year! She could see without glasses right after surgery and the next day she could see better than 20/20. She is thrilled with the results. She is currently training for a 10K and is so happy she doesn't have to worry about dry contact lenses or sweaty glasses. Carissa highly recommends vision correction!

Martin Gonzales lives in San Jose and works at HOPE Services as a Lead Instructor. Martin loves working at HOPE Services and finds it very rewarding. His biggest challenge at work was his frustration in having to find his glasses when creating daily schedules or working with clients. If he forgot his glasses at home - it seriously affected his ability to do his job. Martin is thrilled by how professional Dr. Furlong's staff was, how they made him feel at ease and set expectations for the surgery and post-operative care. His eyes are healing very well and he has already noted a marked difference with how much easier it is to conduct his work and enjoy his daily life.